Betty Crocker story revealed

Aug. 24, 2010 at 3:24 a.m.

Phylis Canion

By Phylis Canion

Since you are a food trivia buff, I have a question that is somewhat nutritional, or at least it has to do with food. Whose is Betty Crocker? I see her products, but never see a picture like we do Col. Sanders or Aunt Jemima. Can you explain?

To publicize Gold Medal flour after it became a General Mills product, a picture puzzle ad was run in a national magazine. The company was inundated with more than 30,000 people responding to the puzzle and asking questions like "How do you make a one-crust cherry pie?" and "What's a good recipe for apple dumplings?"

The advertising staff was bewildered, but it rose to the occasion. Recipes from laboratory personnel, home economists, office personnel and their wives were collected and each letter received a personnel reply. Each response was simply signed: "Sincerely!" People then replied with thank you's for the great recipes, but had no name to address the thank you to and began asking who was sending the wonderful recipes.

Once again, the marketing staff rose to the occasion. They came up with a surname, Crocker - the last name of a gentleman that was a longtime staff member who had recently retired. Now all they needed was a cozy first name and Betty had the appeal and sounded good with Crocker. Thereafter, all letters were signed - Sincerely, Betty Crocker.

Today, more than one hundred women help maintain the Betty Crocker tradition. Five specially-trained correspondents answer her personal mail with more than 5,000 letters a month, and a staff to operate 19 fully-equipped kitchens to test more than 50,000 recipes each year. And now, you know the rest of the story.

I have stomach problems and someone recently recommended that I try aloe vera. Can you please explain any benefits of aloe vera?

Aloe vera is quite often referred to a the lily of the desert. Aloe is a potent healing superfood with a wealth of new research being revealed daily. At this time, there have been more than 75 healing compounds that have been identified in aloe, as well as the fact that aloe has excellent transdermal properties, allowing it to penetrate deep skin levels.

Aloe gel has been used as far back as Egyptian times as a healer for cuts, burns, insect bites, sores, acne, eczema and burns.

Aloe juice has become popular since it boosts the body's cleansing action, balancing rather than causing harsh irritant effects. Aloe juice has anti-inflammatory essential fatty acids that help the stomach and the colon.

Aloe juice alkalizes the digestive processes to prevent an over acid system, which is a common cause of indigestion and acid reflux and can benefit other stomach and digestive tract irritations like colitis and irritable bowel syndrome. As I always recommend, be sure to tell your physician of any personal protocols that you are taking.

Phylis B. Canion is a doctor of naturopathic medicine and is a certified nutritional consultant, e-mail her at doc.phyl@yahoo.com. This column is for nutritional information only and is not intended to treat, diagnose or cure.